Denmark's image abroad suffers
丹麥國際形象受損

Protesters burn a Danish flag in Pakistan. 抗議群眾在巴基斯坦焚燒丹麥國旗。(照片：法新社)

PHOTO: AFP

Denmark's image has taken a beating after a Danish newspaper published cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed last year that angered Muslims around the world. The results of a survey of 35 countries showed that Denmark was the only country to have its image hurt during the past six months.

The cartoons affected Denmark's image mainly in Muslim countries, but the survey also showed an image drop in other parts of the world, including eastern and central Europe, and South Africa. Denmark's image as "open, generous, tolerant, democratic, strongly oriented on human rights and fairness" has suffered, said one of the people who did the study.

The online survey is done every three months. It questions 25,000 people of different ages, incomes and education levels. The respondents come from 35 countries, including the largely Muslim nations of Egypt, Malaysia, Turkey and Indonesia. Egyptians had the worst opinion of Denmark, and Denmark's image has also dropped in Turkey.

People who took the survey were asked what they thought about the cultures, politics and economies of different countries. For example, one of the questions asked what they thought about exports from a certain country, and if they "actively seek out or avoid" products from that country.

Political questions asked them to rank countries according to how competent and fair they thought their governments were.

Respondents were also asked which adjectives best described the government of each country. In Egypt, less than one-fifth believed the adjectives "trustworthy" or "honest" described Denmark. (DPA)